Transcript of "Minnie Welch autograph_book"

3.
Mary Janice Welch
Mary Janice “Minnie” Welch was born February 24, 1865 in Waterbury, Connecticut. She was one of seven
children born to Mark Welch and Sarah Conneally, both of whom were born in Ireland. Minnie’s siblings
were Edward (b. about 1860), Mark William (b. about 1861), Nellie (b. about 1863), Annie (b. about 1864),
Marcella (b. about 1869), and Agnes (b. about. 1872). There were also three half-sisters born to Mark
Welch and his first wife, Bridget: Sarah (b. about 1851), Catherine (b. about 1855), Jane (b. about 1857).
As more information becomes known about this family, this book will be updated.
As a young woman in her early twenties, Minnie traveled from Connecticut to Nebraska, eventually
residing in Greenwood, a small pioneer community located between Lincoln and Omaha in Cass County. It
was there she met and married Daniel Kelly who had come to the area with his parents, William D. Kelly
and Mary Casey, both of whom were born in Ireland. The Kelly family moved from Elgin, Illinois to St. Paul,
Minnesota to Omaha, Nebraska to Council Bluffs, Iowa before settling in Greenwood and the northeastern
section of Lancaster County, Nebraska.
Minnie Welch and Dan Kelly were married December 27, 1888. Sources differ on the location of the
marriage, but for now, I will go along with the source that says they married in St. Joseph’s Church in
Greenwood, Nebraska. The couple celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on December 27, 1938.
Dan Kelly died two years later on February 6, 1940, with Minnie’s death coming on August 13, 1942 at the
age of 77 years. Her life spanned from the Civil War to World War II.
The couple raised three sons: Francis John (1889 – 1941), William Leroy (1892 – 1968) and Paul Daniel
(“D.R.”) (1897 – 1946).

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About Minnie’s Autograph Book
As with many families, photographs and mementoes are saved, put away in boxes and attics. Many are
long forgotten or thrown away by those with no interest in preserving family history. Many of the
memorabilia from the Kelly family passed on to my mother upon the death of her father, William Leroy
Kelly, in 1968. I was fascinated with the sepia toned family photographs from my childhood, wondering
who were these interesting looking people from whom I came. At some point in my twenties I discovered,
among the various family items, two autograph books. One had belonged to Minnie Welch. The other had
belonged to her sister, Nellie Welch.
As I read through the writings and signatures, I found that the two books provided me with the first
documentation that weaved together the names of the members of this family. It immediately became
clear that the two autograph books chronicled the two young women’s journey from their home in
Connecticut to their new western home in Nebraska.
The pages chronicle many of Minnie’s friends and family between 1883 and 1888. There are people from
Goshen, Litchfield and Waterbury, Connecticut; Rochester, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Dover,
New Hampshire; Seneca Falls, New York; and finally, Greenwood, Nebraska. The Greenwood entries
appear to be written in January 1888 and are the last chronological entries in the book. Minnie became
the wife of Daniel Kelly in December of that year. The time frame makes me wonder where and how they
met, what was their courtship like? How did a young lady from the east fall in love with a hard-working
Nebraska farmer whose family had travelled by covered wagon from St. Paul, Minnesota? The answers to
those questions may never be known, but what these pages show is that Minnie had a wealth of loving
friends and family who undoubtedly contributed to the woman, wife and mother she became.
Some of the writings on the pages have long since faded away, with little hope of being able to read their
messages with the naked eye. Other pages have been neatly excised from the book, which makes me

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wonder what stories and secrets were once between the burgundy wine colored fabric covers of Minnie’s
book.
I am still piecing together the pieces of the family history puzzle. As I continue my research on my family, I
will continue to update their story here.
I have included an index of names of people who signed Minnie’s book, in the hope of helping other
genealogists and family historians whose ancestors crossed paths with my great-grandmother. If you
discover any of your family members among these pages, please write to me (sumaree@inebraska.com)
and let me know. I would also like to know if you can assist me with some of the missing words of the
transcriptions.
As I again read through these pages, the message written by one of Minnie’s friends gave a wish which
became Minnie’s reality:
May you live in bliss from sorrow away,
Having plenty laid up for a rainy day
And when you are ready to settle in life,
May you find a good husband, and
make a good wife.
Is the wish of your friend
Mrs. G. T. Oviatt
Torrington, Conn.
Susan M. Petersen
Lincoln, Nebraska
June 2009

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The Kelly Family of Greenwood, Nebraska, several years after Minnie Welch travelled west from
Connecticut to settle in Nebraska and marry Dan Kelly.
Known family members are : Francis Kelly, eldest son of Dan and Minnie Kelly, far left, front row; Dan
Kelly, front row center; and Minnie Kelly, front row, far right. Standing between Dan and Minnie is likely
their youngest son, Paul Daniel. Standing on the far left is Dan and Minnie’s middle son, William Leroy, my
grandfather.
Can you help me identify the other family members?

12.
The young ladies exclaim:
At twenty; Oh Which shall
it be. At thirty, Always ready to say (Yes. And
at forty (alhtough very few ever reach that age)
Oh where is he.
Fondly yours
Luman R Long
Waterbury, CT
5-5-83

14.
To Miss Minnie
Oh what a
Tangled web we
Weave when first
We practice to deceive
S. M. Hoye
Mount Carmel, Conn
Sep 14 1884

15.
May your path through life
Be bright with flowers
Sweet as the perfumes from Eastern bowers,
Smooth as the crystal lakes of Heaven
Where to you an Immortal crown may be given.
Your Sincere friend,
Mrs. D. A. Mag---
Waterbury, Mar 4th 1883

17.
What write in this album
For the Critic to spy
For the Learned to laugh at
Ha. Ha. Not I
F. L. Christman
Philadelphia Pa.

18.
“To Minnie”
“These few lines to you are tendered
By a friend sincere and true;
Hoping but to be remembered,
When I’m far away from you.”
Sincerely yours.
Anna M. Lewis
Farmington, Conn.
Waterbury 4 -23-83

32.
To my dear Minnie: -
May you live in bliss from sorrow away,
Having plenty laid up for a rainy day
And when you are ready to settle in life,
May you find a good husband, and
make a good wife.
Is the wish of your friend
Mrs. G. T. Oviatt
Torrington, Conn.
10 – 24 - 1885

33.
Every joy that Heaven can send,
Wealth and every kind of treasure,
Health and love to thee my friend,
And happiness without measure.
May your days in joy be passed
With friends to bless and cheer.
And each year exceed the last
In all that earth holds dear.
Yours in friendship,
George T. Oviatt
Torrington, Oct 24, 1885

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More about the friends who wrote in Minnie’s book
[this page is being updated as information is discovered.]
Luke Conneally – Minnie’s uncle, brother of Sarah Conneally Welch. Born in Ireland, immigrated to the United States. Lived in Greenwood,
Nebraska for a brief period, then settled in Wallace, Nebraska in Lincoln County.
Maria C. Jones – Maria was born in Connecticut about 1858, a single, white teacher living with her mother, Margaret A., in Waterbury, New
Haven, Connecticut in 1880 (source: 1880 United States Federal Census). She would have been about age 25 when she wrote in Minnie’s book.
T. J. Foley –
Luman R. Long – Luman was born about 1855 in Connecticut, son of Joseph C. and Sarah Long. In 1880, he was a single, white bookkeeper, living
with his parents and grandmother, Sarah Long, in Waterbury, New Haven, Connecticut. He was about 28 years of age when he wrote in Minnie’s
book. He continued to reside in Waterbury at least through 1920, when he was aged 65. Census records indicated he may have never married.
Edward G. Welch – Minnie’s brother, born in Connecticut, about 1860, the son of Mark Welch and Sarah Conneally. He was about 22 years of
age when he signed Minnie’s book.